The annual market growth of 6%[1] for the consumption of sensitive drinks such as
juices, nectars, still drinks, isotonics and teas presents
significant business development opportunities for beverage
producers worldwide. The popularity of packaging solutions using
PET Hot Fill technology continues to rise in this field. Sidel
leads this development with a complete Hot Fill solution that
expands packaging opportunities. The company's packaging engineers
and designers are dedicated to developing attractive and
sustainable PET bottles to differentiate beverages on the
supermarket shelf. Using the most advanced technical and fully
integrated solutions, Sidel is able to ensure detailed control and
transparency throughout the whole process. Complemented by ongoing
tailored services, producers are able to meet changing consumer
needs and market requirements.

Integrated efficient production for hot filled
beverages

Fully integrated and flexible, Sidel PET Hot Fill
packaging solutions provide reliable and safe production. By taking
a holistic view of the production cycle and line performance, Sidel
optimises uptime and operating costs. Focusing on the specific
features of the customer's packaged beverage, Sidel's solutions
employ the processing equipment and capabilities from Tetra Pak
Processing Systems, to ensure processing and filling systems are
seamlessly combined to reduce downtime, consumption and costs.
Based on control and regulation systems, producers can increase
performance and make more informed decisions, ensuring optimum
hygiene, efficiency and safety throughout the supply chain.

Pioneer in top quality PET HR bottles

Gabriele Gatti, Sidel Filling Product Manager, comments -
"Today, juices, still drinks and teas constitute the fastest
growing segment of the beverage industry. PET packaging - already
the material of choice for 40%[2] of these beverage types and still growing in
popularity - is an attractive and sustainable way for sensitive
beverages distributed at ambient temperature." Combined with
aseptic or hot filling production, PET can ensure beverage
products' safety across their shelf life. In terms of Hot Fill, the
temperature of the beverage heating process is as high as 80-92°C
which is above the normal thermal resistance of conventional PET
bottles. "This requires specific packaging and equipment to allow
PET to resist to hot filling temperature. In 1986, Sidel pioneered
the heat-resistant (HR) stretch blow moulding process to allow PET
bottles to withstand these high temperatures, since when the
company has driven PET's transformation into the flexible packaging
solution it is today."

Enhanced design freedom for lightweighted HR
PET bottle

Sidel's global packaging capabilities,
including PET bottle design, combined with its expertise in hot
fill production, provide the means to produce bottles that are both
resistant and attractive. Today, from designing the preform all the
way to the blowing process, the company undertakes a singular
approach to achieve HR PET bottles of the highest quality. Sidel
has significantly reduced the weight of HR bottles while retaining
their durability and increasing the bottle design opportunities.
This latter achievement is due to the elimination of vacuum panels
- previously a design necessity to absorb the variations in volume
that the HR bottle and contents undergo passing from hot to cold
conditions, and also to the innovative and efficient electrical
mould heating and accurate material distribution. As a result, the
distinctive bottle shapes stand out on the supermarket shelves -
and consistently deliver a great consumer experience.

Responsive mould heating combined with accurate
blowing

Sidel's latest model for HR bottle production - the Sidel
Matrix™ eHR blower - adds yet another innovative dimension to the
company's hot fill solutions. Traditionally, PET bottles for hot
filling are produced via the heat-resistant stretch blow moulding
process at 120°/140°C - a temperature usually attained by circuits
of hot oil. By using electricity instead to heat the mould for the
PET bottle body, the Sidel Matrix eHR blower enhances operator
safety preventing hazards caused by oil leakages, such as
operators' slipping and product contamination. Probes are directly
located in each mould shell to regulate the temperature as closely
as possible to the PET bottle as it is formed. The process is very
responsive, heating at a rate three times quicker than by oil,
accurately providing the correct temperatures immediately from the
very first bottles produced. This results in a blowing process
which is uniform between blowing stations, ensuring high bottle
quality and consistent performance in the hands of the consumer,
even at outputs of up to 2,000 bottles per hour per mould.

Compared with Sidel blowers that used traditional heating with
oil, this innovative electrical mould heating and the proven Sidel
Matrix blower technologies offer together energy savings of up to
45%. A further saving of 25% can be achieved with Sidel Matrix
Ecoven, which uses infrared lamps with ceramic instead of metal
reflectors. A reduction by up to 45% of air consumption is possible
by implementing Sidel's air recovery option, AirEco2.

Highest standards of hygiene and
operational reliability

To meet the production demands of sensitive and natural
beverages, the Sidel Matrix™ hot filler - SF700 FM offers the
highest standards of hygiene and operational reliability during
filling. It can be used for a variety of sensitive beverages, with
or without pulps. Beverages containing particles up to 10 x 10 x
10mm can also be handled with a double stage filling. It is
suitable for PET bottle sizes ranging from 200ml to 3 litres.
Operating at production rates ranging from 6,000 to 60,000 bph, it
features electronic filling valves equipped with individual flow
meters that ensure precise filling volumes while minimising product
wastage. Its operation of contactless filling - where there is no
contact between the filling valve and the bottle neck - optimises
product safety throughout the whole process. Additionally, by
integrating the very best of the electrical HR blowing and hot
filling technologies in one single controlled production
environment, the Sidel Matrix Combi Hot Fill eliminates conveying
and allows hygiene and food safety to be maintained.

Safe, effective and sustainable process
environment

Once the beverage is filled and the bottle capped, beverage
safety and consistency are ensured by sterilising the head-space
and cap with the Sidel cap steriliser. It controls this process by
tilting the bottle at a precise angle, temperature and contact
time. This step puts all internal surfaces and air space in contact
with the hot beverage, eliminating microorganisms and extending
product shelf life. Sidel's cooling system cools the product while
avoiding thermal stress and preserving organoleptic properties,
taste and colour, for a great consumer experience. The modular
cooling configuration can be easily upgraded to match the
production needs of today and tomorrow. Additionally, the advanced
engineering allows a precise sizing of the cooler with a 20%
reduced footprint and minimal water consumption compared with
traditional solutions. Line integration with Tetra Pak Processing
Systems can also lead to energy savings of up to 45% by recovering,
for example, warm water from the cooler for pre-heating at the
pasteuriser.

Optimising uptime and operating costs

Taking this holistic view of the production cycle and line
performance, Sidel helps producers optimise operating costs and
reach the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). Sidel Services™
offers a tailored portfolio of maintenance, line improvement,
training, spare parts and logistics, line conversion and moulds and
packaging services to help maintain, regain and even improve
performance throughout the line's lifetime. In this way, by
partnering with the company producers get the benefit of having
everything centred around a single, reliable global supplier.
Gabriele Gatti comments: "Once the productivity and performance
targets of a line are reached, we believe that the minimum goal
should be to maintain and even improve these levels over the coming
years. As new technologies and solutions are developed, Sidel
offers existing line owners options and upgrades to ensure that
existing equipment does not get left behind." Having staff trained
on new procedures and emerging methodologies to enhance their
performance can also improve production by turning costly downtime
into profitable uptime.